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The crossover between UFC and pro wrestling is becoming more common. There has always been a strong link between the two sports, with the likes of Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn being some of the early MMA fighters to feature in the WWE.
Here is a look at some of the current WWE roster and what they achieved in MMA before they became wrestlers.
Brock Lesner
Brock Lesner is one of the biggest names on the WWE roster. The Smackdown star is a five-time WWE champion, a WWE Universal champion three times, King of the Ring winner, Money in the Bank winner, and has been successful in the Royal Rumble.
Lesner first made his WWE debut in 2002 and since then he has floated between wrestling and MMA. The man who was once nicknamed “The Next Big Thing” won the heavyweight title in the UFC in 2008 when he defeated Randy Couture. He defended that belt twice before losing to Cain Velasquez.
The 44-year-old has not appeared in the UFC since 2016. He has a record of 5-3 with the MMA brand. Although he has retired from the sport, he has been linked with a fight with Jon Jones. The heavyweight division in the UFC is very strong at the moment, with Francis Ngannou top of the chain. The winner of the Derrick Lewis vs Chris Daukaus could earn themselves a shot at the title, and that is likely to be Daukaus, as of the 17th November, he is the odds-on favorite in the Betway UFC betting. Lesner could decide to make a U-turn on his retirement and may also throw his name into the mix for a shot at Ngannou’s crown.
Shayna Baszler
Before arriving at the WWE to join the NXT brand, Shayna Baszler was very accomplished in combat sports such as UFC. She won 15 of her 26 fights and 13 of those victories came by submission. Her hammerlock submission, which she still uses in the wrestling ring, made her a very dangerous opponent.
Baszler has competed at various weight groups, including bantamweight, featherweight, and lightweight. She has also represented the United States at the World Championships in women’s grappling. The Queen of Spades has gone to have a lot of success in the WWE. The 2019 NXT Female Competitor of the Year has been the NXT Women’s champion twice, while she is also a two-time WWE Women’s Tag Team champion along with Nia Jax. Her future continues to look bright within the wrestling brand.
Matt Riddle
One of the most recent athletes who has switched from UFC to WWE is Matt Riddle. He has a career record in MMA of 8-3, of which he won four straight fights within the UFC brand.
Riddle ended his career with the UFC with an impressive 89.3% takedown record. This was the third-highest in the history of the brand. He also landed 1350 strikes during his time in the octagon. The former UFC man initially began his wrestling career on NXT. He is now signed to the Raw brand. Highlights so far include holding the WWE United States Championship, WWE Raw Tag Team Championship with Randy Orton and he won the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in 2020 with Peter Dunne.
Bobby Lashley
Former WWE champion Bobby Lashley featured in Bellator and Strikeforce before joining WWE. He won the Shark Fights Heavyweight Championship, while he also landed the Xtreme Fight Night Heavyweight Championship title.
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His overall MMA record is 15-2, with six knockouts and six submissions going his way. His last MMA contest came in 2016 when he defeated Josh Appelt at Bellator 162 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Lashley is today one of the biggest names within the WWE. He won the WWE United States Championship and the WWE Intercontinental Championship twice before getting his hands on the most prestigious belt with the brand. The former MMA heavyweight athlete defeated The Miz on Raw in March 2020 to add his name into history by becoming WWE champion. He held the belt for seven months before losing to Big E on Raw last September.
Expect to see more MMA athletes make the switch to pro-wrestling in the future, following in the footsteps of the above four WWE stars.